Back to the Future: It's About Time
by Knight Writer 95
Summary: Doc has been missing for some time now and his debts have caught up with him. Everyone thinks he's trying to dodge his debts except Marty. After finding Doc's notebook at the estate sale, Marty discovers the DeLorean has returned... with only Einstein and a mysterious shoe. Can Marty find out what happened or is it curtains for Doc? Novelization of Back to the Future: The Game.
1. A Mistake

**_Back to the Future_**

It's About Time

* * *

SATURDAY

OCTOBER 26

1985

* * *

"Alright, I'm ready," Marty McFly said.

"Good evening, I'm Doctor Emmett Brown. I'm standing on the parking lot at Twin Pines Mall. It's Saturday morning, October twenty-sixth, 1985, 1:18 am, and this is temporal experiment number one. C'mon Einy, hey hey boy, get in there, that's a boy, in you go," Doc said as he opened the gull wing door of the DeLorean to let his dog hop inside. "Get down, get your seatbelt on, that's it."

"Whoa, whoa, okay," exclaimed Marty as he moved around Doc to get a better shot of the dog in the car.

"Please note that Einstein's clock is in precise synchronization with my control watch," Doc informed as he held up the two clocks for emphasis as they simultaneously changed from 1:18 to 1:19. "Got it?"

"Right, check Doc," Marty confirmed.

"Good. Have a good trip Einstein. Watch your head," said Doc as he closed the door to the oddly modified DeLorean.

Doc took a few steps back and unhooked a remote control from his belt. Marty noticed this.

"You got that thing hooked up to the… car?" he asked as Doc flipped a switch and the car came to life.

"Watch this," Doc said with excitement evident in his voice.

"Yeah, okay, got it," Marty agreed as he focused the camera on the car.

Doc manipulated the controls and the DeLorean took off in reverse. Doc made the car do a few maneuvers around the empty parking lot until it was on the other side of the lot from where they were standing. He had chosen the Twin Pines Mall parking lot to conduct the experiment for a reason: the length. The lot measured a quarter mile in length. It was perfect for his purposes that night. Or morning depending on how you looked at it.

"Not me, the car, the car!" Doc exclaimed as he noticed Marty train the camera on him.

Doc moved and dragged Marty along until they were right in the path of the DeLorean, which was only a blur of light from this distance.

"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious shit."

He flipped another switch on the remote and then nudged the throttle forward. The sound of the tires on the asphalt could be heard as the car gained speed. Doc watched the speedometer on the remote rise and disengaged the brake lock when it hit sixty-five mph.

"Watch this, watch this," he said as the DeLorean bore down on the two of them.

Marty attempted to move to one side but Doc pulled him back. He kept the camera on the car that was getting closer by the second. The DeLorean hit 88 mph and a flash of light filled the camera. When it was gone, so was the car, having left a pair of flaming tire tracks that went right between Marty and Doc's legs. Doc looked flabbergasted for a second and then looked down at the remote's speedometer. His face broke out in a grin and he started jumping up and down like a madman.

"Ha! What did I tell you? Eighty-eight miles per hour!"

Marty looked at the fire trails that had been left behind and saw something spinning around like a top in the middle of the trails. It was the DeLorean's license plate which read 'OUTATIME'.

"The temporal displacement occurred at exactly 1:20 am and zero seconds!" Doc continued ranting.

Marty bent down to pick up the plate but dropped it instantly.

"Hot! Ow! Doc, you disintegrated Einstein!"

"Calm down Marty," the scientist reassured as he got out a small notebook and began scribbling in it, "both the molecular structure of Einstein and the car are completely intact!"

"Then where the hell are they?"

"The appropriate question is _when _the hell are they? You see, Einstein has just become the world's first time traveler! I sent him into the future!" explained Doc. "One minute into the future to be exact. And in precisely 1:21 am and zero seconds we shall catch up with him in the time machine!"

Marty's mind struggled to process all this information. "Wait a minute Doc, are you telling me that you built a time machine… out of a DeLorean?"

"The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car why not do it with some style? Besides, the stainless steel construction made the flux dispersal-"

Doc didn't get to finish the sentence as his watch beeped and he took a look at it.

"Look out!" he exclaimed as he jumped to one side, dragging Marty with him.

The pair waited but nothing happened. The wind blew some trash around the lot but the DeLorean was still missing. Finally Marty broke the silence that had fallen.

"Doc?"

"Hmm, that's peculiar," he muttered and walked forward a few steps.

"Where's the car, Doc?" Marty continued to question.

"It should have caught up with us twenty-seven seconds ago," he answered.

"Doc, what happened to Einstein?"

"No need for concern," Doc continued. "It's probably just a minor miscallibration of the time circuits. Marty, could you get my notebook? It should be in the tool box."

Marty walked back to Doc's van where the tool box was lying right outside.

"Notebook, notebook," he muttered as he searched the toolbox. "Got it!"

Marty opened the notebook to a page that had a sketch of a 'Y' shaped device labeled 'Flux Capacitor' and had some calculations scribbled on it. The page next to it had more scientific formulas on it which Marty couldn't begin to decipher.

"Flux Capacitor?" Marty read.

"That's it!" exclaimed Doc as he walked up behind his young friend.

"What the heck's a Flux Capacitor?" Marty questioned.

"My latest invention The thing that makes time travel possible!" he explained as he took the notebook from Marty and flipped through the pages. "In this notebook I've detailed the nearly three decades of scientific breakthroughs necessary to build a working time machine. If it ever fell into the wrong hands the consequences could be catastrophic! Now let's see, if mass = I times z and E equals the square root of z times c squared and the flux dispersal rate is…"

"Doc? Something's way off here," Marty interrupted the scientist's rambling.

After Marty had finished his sentence the sound of thunder was heard and a lightning bolt lit up the sky.

"Uh, Doc?"

The sign near the entrance to the parking lot that read 'TWIN PINES MALL' changed to read 'LONE PINE MALL'.

"Great Scott!" Doc finally exclaimed.

"Doc, what is it?"

"I've made a horrible mistake."

The notebook fell from his hands and Doc started to fade out.

"Doc!" Marty exclaimed and made a grab for his friend only to have his hand pass right through. "No!"

Doc turned to face Marty with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry Marty…" he said as he faded completely.

"DOC! COME BACK! DOC!"

* * *

_A/N: Uh oh, what went wrong? And what happened to Doc's past? Will Marty be able to figure out what to do? And what happened to Einstein and the DeLorean? Post a review to find out!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own _Back to the Future: The Game. _All rights belong to Telltale Games and Universal Studios._


	2. Estate Sales and Notebooks

_Ch. 2: Estate Sales and Notebooks_

_Previously on Back to the Future: It's About Time_

"Doc, what happened to Einstein?"

"No need for concern," Doc continued. "It's probably just a minor miscallibration of the time circuits. Marty, could you get my notebook? It should be in the tool box."

Marty walked back to Doc's van where the tool box was lying right outside.

"Notebook, notebook," he muttered as he searched the toolbox. "Got it!"

Marty opened the notebook to a page that had a sketch of a 'Y' shaped device labeled 'Flux Capacitor' and had some calculations scribbled on it. The page next to it had more scientific formulae on it that Marty couldn't begin to decipher.

"Flux Capacitor?" Marty read.

"That's it!" exclaimed Doc as he walked up behind his young friend.

"What the heck's a Flux Capacitor?" Marty questioned.

"My latest invention The thing that makes time travel possible!" he explained as he took the notebook from Marty and flipped through the pages. "In this notebook I've detailed the nearly three decades of scientific breakthroughs necessary to build a working time machine. If it ever fell into the wrong hands the consequences could be catastrophic! Now let's see, is mass = I times z and E equals the square root of z time c squared and the flux dispersal rate is…"

"Doc? Something's way off here," Marty interrupted the scientist's rambling.

After Marty had finished his sentence the sound of thunder was heard and a lightning bolt lit up the sky.

"Uh, Doc?"

The sign near the entrance to the parking lot that read 'TWIN PINES MALL' changed to read 'LONE PINE MALL'.

"Great Scott," Doc finally exclaimed.

"Doc, what is it?"

"I've made a horrible mistake."

The notebook fell from his hands and Doc started to fade out.

"Doc!" Marty exclaimed and made a grab for his friend only to have his hand pass right through. "No!"

Doc turned to Marty. "I'm sorry Marty…" he said as he faded completely.

"DOC! COME BACK! DOC!"

* * *

_"_DOC!" Marty exclaimed as he bolted into an upright position.

He looked around him. He was back in his room and not at the Lone Pine Mall parking lot. He looked at himself. He was still there, jean jacket, vest and all. His room was still the same. On the wall there were posters for _Frankenstein _and _Weird Science. _Did that mean it was all a dream? Marty was pulled from his thoughts by a voice outside his door.

"Marty? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, Mom. It was just a nightmare... I was in the past... and Doc was there..."

At the mention of his friend's name Marty glanced at the picture of the two of them in 1885 at the clock on the stand beside his bed. It was the only evidence besides the rebuilt DeLorean of his time travelling experiences.

"Well you're safe and sound now," his Mom continued. "Back in good old 1986. Well you'd better get up, your father's waiting for you."

"Huh?"

"Weren't you going to meet him over at Doc's?"

"Holy crap! I'm late!"

* * *

Doctor Emmett 'Doc' Brown's place of residence was an old garage situated behind the parking lot to a Burger King. There used to be a Brown Family mansion but that had caught fire and burned to the ground years ago. At the time of its happening there had been speculation circling around that kooky old Doc Brown had set the mansion ablaze himself to collect the insurance money to fund his research. Now he lived in the garage, the only construct of the mansion to survive the inferno. The garage was 1% living space, 1% kitchen, and 98% lab to its sole occupant who had been absent for a considerable amount of time now. To anyone who walked in who knew about the Brown Mansion Fire it would seem that Doc had salvaged everything he could and stuffed it in the garage. In its day the garage had been rather spacious but now it seemed rather small and cramped after having been stuffed with everything from an old jukebox to Marty's super sized amp which had since been repaired after the unintended overload. It was not that hard for a person to feel claustrophobic in the confined spaces. A collection of first edition Jules Verne sat on a table beside a small radio and a small scale model of town square complete with court house adorned a disused ping pong table. Odds and ends littered the place and the most fantastical collection of clocks lined the wall. There was one of Felix the Cat, an owl, a monkey, and many others of all shapes and sizes. One might think they had stepped into Geppeto's workshop. And the constant sound of the clocks' ticking only served to enhance that illusion. An estate sale sign hung in the door that served as the entrance to the garage.

"Dad? Are we too late to stop the..." Marty began as he burst in but stopped at what he saw. "Sale?"

People were already there sifting through Doc's belongings, looking for all the world as though they were at a flea market.

"Better late then never," George McFly said as he walked towards his son. "You wouldn't believe how much rare stuff is back here!"

"That's Doc's stuff!" Marty exclaimed in a burst of righteous anger. "The city has no right-" he began only to be cut off by his Dad.

"Now son, I know you're upset, but your friend's been gone for months and the city really seems hellbent on using this land for that new parking garage and... hey! Is that a first edition of Jules Verne?"

George forgot about the talk with his youngest and headed towards the table where the books were.

"It's just no fair. But at least things can't get any worse..." Marty said to himself.

There was jingle of loose change being dropped in a slot and the music to _Back in Time_ filled the garage. Marty turned and saw Biff near the jukebox with the helmet to Doc's old mind reader on his head.

"Hey Marty," the auto detailer said as he took a long gulp of beer.

"Hey Biff," Marty greeted halfheartedly.

_Way to jinx it McFly, _he thought.

"Come to see if the old crackpot had any buried treasure?" Biff asked.

"Nah, I guess I'm just... remembering," answered Marty as he leaned down to look at Einstein's bowl.

Marty thought that he had better take a look around Doc's lab to see if his old friend had left anything potentially dangerous behind, like notes on the time machine. That was one thing that they didn't need falling into the hands of the likes of Biff. Marty remembered how Grey's Sports Almanac had turned Biff into a millionaire and allowed him to become the most powerful man in Hill Valley. That had been a nightmare alternate reality that had haunted Marty's dreams for a long time. Marty walked through the lab to the room where the scale model of downtown Hill Valley was. He looked at it and remembered when Doc had built it to simulate how he planned to harness the lightning bolt and send Marty back to 1985.

"Doc built this model of downtown Hill Valley way back in 1955. The clock tower in the courthouse even works," Marty said aloud as he observed the model. Then his eye caught something.

The upper right corner in the back of the court house had peeled away slightly at the edge revealing the pages of a book.

"What the-? Is that Doc's notebook in there?"

"Hey! That look's just like the courthouse!" Biff exclaimed as he rushed over and pushed Marty out of the way. "You gotta hand it to the old coot, he was good with his hands."

"Uh, Biff, can I see that a minute?" asked Marty.

"This would look great in my fish tank! Give the old carp something new to nibble on."

"Ya know, you and my folks go way back..." Marty began.

"Yeah, so?"

"How about letting me have that model courthouse. Um, for old time's sake."

"Naw, I think I'll keep it."

"Give it here Biff!" exclaimed Marty as he made a grab for the courthouse.

The roof of the courthouse flew open in the struggle revealing its contents.

"Well well, lookee what we have here," said Biff as he took the notebook out and opened it. "Looks like plans for something. What's a Flux Catheter?"

"It's none of your business! Doc asked me to-"

"Brown's wormfood, kid," Biff snapped. "But THIS looks like it might be worth something. Ha!"

Marty watched as Biff ambled away to look at the other miscellaneous stuff in the garage and a glint of determination flashed in his eyes. There was no way he was letting Biff get his hands on time travel technology again. He had to get Doc's notebook back at all costs. Marty was approaching Biff when he noticed something familiar sticking out of a box his father had just placed on a table.

"Hey Dad," he started as he approached the table. But after that his voice temporarily left him. How was he going to pull this off without making it seem that Doc's notebook was too important?

"Problem?" George asked.

Marty nodded his head.

"Biff?"

Marty found his voice again. "He's got this thing, see, and I really need to get it back."

"If he stole something from you.." George started, anger seeping into his voice.

"No... it's one of Doc's notebooks. He found it first but..."

"Oh. Well then I'm not sure what to tell you. I guess you'll just have to appeal to his better angels... or something.

"Or something," Marty repeated. "I'll keep looking around. Thanks Dad."

Seeing his guitar in the box and the super amp in the corner gave Marty an idea. He approached the amp's controls and dialed the power up to halfway, not wanting to overload it again... yet. "Let's make some noise," he said and went back to his Dad to retrieve his guitar.

"Hey Dad, why's my guitar got a price tag on it?"

"Sorry son. Must have been an overzealous clerk. Just pick it up and I'll iron things over with the bank."

Marty took the guitar and hooked it up to the amp. He knew exactly what to do.

"Here's an oldie but a goodie," he said, repeating himself from the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance in 1955. That was a night he wasn't likely to forget.

Biff happened by and laughed as he saw Marty raise his guitar pick.

"Hey look, it's 'Chuck Butthead'," he mocked as he set the model courthouse down before lashing out and snatching Marty's guitar. "Let me show you how it's done."

"Now Biff," George began. "I think that's Marty's guitar."

"Oh...? Gosh, ha ha-you're right, Mr. McFly," Biff chuckled. "Here ya go, Marty! Let's here a few licks."

Marty accepted his guitar and played a chord. The sound coming out of the amp forced him back a few steps. After that one chord he leaned the guitar against the amp controls and looked at Biff who had picked the courthouse back up and resumed scavenging through the place.

"You kids have ruined rock 'n' roll," he said as he walked past Marty.

Marty decided to have another talk with his Dad about the former bully. "About Biff, Dad... I know you're trying to help-"

"He talks a big game, son, but he's not so tough. I've been dealing with him a long time... believe me. I can handle him."

"So can I," replied Marty.

"I guess you can. Okay son, I'll stay out of your way. But you know where to find me."

"I'll keep looking around. Thanks, Dad," Marty said and went back to his guitar. "And now something your kids are really going to like..."

Biff had wandered by again and noticed that George's back was turned. He put the courthouse down and snatched Marty's guitar again.

"Thanks for warmin' 'em up for me, butthead."

Biff took notice that the power controls were only halfway up. He didn't like that so he dialed it all the way up like Marty had before his journey back in time in 1985.

"Now watch me blow the lid off this joint," he boasted.

_You're gonna blow it off literally,_ Marty thought. "Whatever you say."

Biff raised the pick and brought it baring down on the strings, and then had himself flung back from the force of the sound coming out of the over-sized amp. He was flung back into the same rack of paint cans and other junk Marty had been in 1985. But unlike Marty, Biff was knocked out.

"Rock on, Biff," Marty smiled as the rack tipped over landing on Biff.

Biff mumbled something unintelligible and Marty hurried over to the model courthouse and extracted Doc's notebook.

"Doc, where are you?" asked Marty as he opened the book and looked at the page with the Flux Capacitor.

Suddenly there was a distinctive triple sonic boom accompanied by a flash of light and the screech of tires as they braked on the pavement. Marty ran outside and saw the still iced up DeLorean sitting there in the parking lot outside Doc's garage. He approached the car and looked in the tinted window.

"Doc?" he asked tentatively as he reached for the door handle.

The vents on the back of the DeLorean released the same smoke they had after the time machine's first test run and startled him a bit. Marty touched the handle and yanked his hand back like it had been burned. He recalled how Doc said the car had been 'damn cold' when it returned. Doing the same thing Doc had, Marty opened the door with his foot. A bark issued from within the car as the door opened all the way.

"Einstein!" Marty exclaimed happily. "Where did you come from boy? Didn't you bring Doc with you?"

Einstein hopped out and wandered away as though he hadn't a care in the world. The DeLorean was empty aside from a few things littered in the seats. One of those things was a tape recorder/player which had a strip of tape with his name on it. Marty got in the car and pick the player up. He pressed the play button and Doc's voice came form the player, startling its holder into dropping it.

_"Marty, if you're hearing this recording the the DeLorean's automatic-retrieval feature is a resounding success!"_

"Automatic retrieval? Marty echoed.

The recording continued with an explanation. _"In case of my failure to return to the DeLorean within an allotted time, I've programmed the time machine to jump to these four dimensional coordinates without me. As you are well aware, time travel is an inherently risky activity, and despite my elaborate precautions there's always the possibility that I could land in trouble somehow. And that time is now! Or then! Or maybe later!" _Doc said, his voice sounding a bit confused. That's the problem with time travel. You can't keep it straight in your head.

"He's in trouble!" exclaimed Marty as he realized the severity of his friend's plight.

_"Marty, you've come to my rescue in the past - or was it in the future? Anyway, I'm relying on you to do it again! Please take the DeLorean back-of forward-to whenever it is I'm stuck in time. When you get here, I'm sure you'll figure out what to do."_

"That's it? you're going to tell me when that is?" Marty asked.

_"Just go to the date specified on the time-circuit readout, under the heading marked 'Last Time Departed'. Good luck!"_

"Right, right, last time departed, last time departed..." Marty repeated as he activated the time-circuits before taking notice that the display he needed was on the fritz. Again. "Aw jeez... c'mon, c'mon, c'mon... crap!"

Marty exhaled a frustrated sigh and hit the display to little effect.

"Great! How am I supposed to find him now?"

He would clearly have to find a different approach to finding when Doc was. Maybe there was something in the car he could use. He looked around the interior and saw a shoe lying on the floor by the passenger seat.

"Okay Doc, I know I haven't seen you in a few months, but I'm pretty sure this isn't your shoe."

And it couldn't have been Doc's shoe as it was one that belonged to a woman. But there was someone who might know a bit about the shoe. Marty got out of the DeLorean and brought the shoe to Einstein.

"What do you know about this shoe, Einy?" he asked as he waved it in front of the dog's nose.

Einstein took a few sniffs and then took off into town.

"Great Scott! I think he's onto something!" exclaimed Marty and took off after Einstein.

Hopefully it wouldn't be a dead end.

* * *

_A/N: And there's another chapter for you all. This took longer to write than I anticipated. But I'm going along at a good pace since I'm going off the game and not making it up as I go along. I hope to have another chapter put soon though n_o_t before I post another chapter in my Inspector Gadget fic. But what will Marty find at the end of chasing Einstein? Will he find out when Doc is or is it all a wild goose chase? Post a review to find out. _


	3. When In Time is Doc?

_Ch. 3: When in Time is Doc?_

_Previously on Back to the Future: It's About Time_

"Okay Doc, I know I haven't seen you in a few months, but I'm pretty sure this isn't your shoe."

And it couldn't have been Doc's shoe as it was one that belonged to a woman. But there was someone who might know a bit about the shoe. Marty got out of the DeLorean and brought the shoe to Einstein.

"What do you know about this shoe, Einy?" he asked as he waved it in front of the dog's nose.

Einstein took a few sniffs and then took off into town.

"Great Scott! I think he's onto something!" exclaimed Marty and took off after Einstein.

Hopefully it wouldn't be a dead end.

* * *

The chase led Marty to an older part of Hill Valley. Einstein stopped outside an old apartment building and Marty let go of the pickup truck he had hitched a ride with on his skateboard.

"OK, now we're getting somewhere," he said as he came to a stop. "How is this supposed to lead me to Doc, Einy?" Marty asked after looking around and seeing nothing that stuck out.

Einstein just sat down in the arch of the apartment building. Marty looked at the buzz box and saw that the only name on it was E. Strickland.

_Great, another Strickland. Hopefully this one's better than Principal Strickland, _Marty though as he rubbed the back of his head and pressed the button.

"Step away from the door," a voice said almost immediately.

Marty was startled and jerked back from the buzzer. "Aahhh!"

"Now, let me get a look at you," the old lady with the megaphone on the second floor said.

Einstein let out a few barks but Marty quieted him.

"Just as I suspected- hooligans. Get along now! Scat!"

"Can you let me in? I've got something to show you," Marty asked before she closed the window.

"What is it? Let me see."

Marty dug into his vest pocket and pulled out the shoe for the old lady to see.

"A shoe? Now what would I want with a…" she paused for a second and let out a gasp, clearly startled about something, but quickly regained herself. "Stay there!"

She left the window for a second and returned with an identical shoe, albeit one that was more beat up and obviously older than the one Marty had. The old lady quickly disappeared from the window again. Four seconds later there was a buzzing noise and the door to the building swung open.

"Leave that _creature _outside," she ordered from the window.

"Sorry, Einstein," Marty said to the dog before walking inside.

Marty got to Ms. Strickland's room and peeked inside. There was an easy chair perched at the window to overlook the street below. There was a TV on a stand next to a couch that was occupied with boxes stacked almost to the ceiling with news papers. Marty walked in and the chair rotated around so Ms. Strickland could see him.

"Well! Took you long enough," she snapped.

"Um… there's a lot of stairs," Marty replied, feeling somewhat compelled to defend himself against this old bat of a woman.

"To return the shoe I mean. I lost it _ages_ ago. You can put it down next to the other one."

Marty turned around and dropped the shoe he had next to its mate that was next to the umbrella stand.

"Much better. So neat and orderly. I suppose you'll be wanting some sort of reward now?" she asked as she gave Marty a glare.

"No, I-"

"All I got is tea and candy."

"But I-"

"I'm sorry I called you a hooligan. I try not to jump to conclusions but after all, nine out of ten people in this city _are _hooligans! It's a fact, look it up," she said as she toddled into the kitchen and set a kettle of water on the stove, which she neglected to turn on.

"Uh-"

"Have a seat sonny," she said as she waddled back in and sat back in the chair.

Marty looked at the sofa. It was full of boxes of newspapers.

"Hey, you kids! Put out those cigarettes!" Ms. Strickland yelled at some teens on the street with her megaphone. She placed it back down on the table in front of her next to a pair of binoculars.

"Mind if I take a look?" asked Marty, indicating the binoculars.

"Go ahead dear," the she consented.

"Man these are powerful," Marty commented. "I can see Biff going into the video store."

"Tsk. You wouldn't believe the filth that boy watches. He's nothing but an out of control hedonist, just like his father."

Marty put the binoculars back and thought out loud to himself. "If there's a clue to finding Doc out there, I'm not seein' it. I don't even know where to start looking!" He then thought to ask Ms. Strickland about her shoe and the newspapers. Maybe one of them would give him a clue as to when Doc was.

"Ms. Strickland?" he started but was cut off again as she started yelling at someone else on the street.

"Jack! Diane! I know what you're doing behind that tree! Yes?" she asked as she refocused her attention on Marty.

"What's with all these newspapers?"

"This is my personal archive. I've got every issue of the Hill Valley telegraph ever published," she answered with some pride in her voice.

"Get out," Marty said. "Every single issue?"

"From 1871 to the present. If it happened in Hill Valley, you'll find it in my stacks!"

"Do you remember when you lost your shoe?"

"Shoe?"

"That shoe over there," Marty reminded as he indicated the pair of shoes by the umbrella stand. They provided quite a contrast, one looking new and the other faded with age and beat up.

"Oh, _that _shoe. My, what a Nosy Nellie! No one likes a busybody, you know."

"Uh-"

"Oh fine, let me think about it. Yes, I remember. I lost it in a scuffle with a dog… when was it? Oh yes… the day that speakeasy burned down," she said the word speakeasy hatefully.

"A speakeasy? In Hill Valley?" questioned Marty.

"Don't act so surprised young man, your generation doesn't hold a copyright on moral depravity, you know. Sin has been on the prowl in Hill Valley since the day it was founded!"

Marty decided to return the conversation to the binoculars. "Doing some stargazing?"

"No, I set my sights on… lower things," Ms. Strickland replied as she lifted them again. "Is that…? Tiff Tannen! You get away from that hubcap before I call your father!"

"Well don't let me keep you from your business," muttered Marty.

"You there! Don't even think about tossing that Kleenex on the ground!"

"Man she keeps it hot in here," he said as he approached the old radiator and twisted the knob, releasing some steam in a whistling noise.

"That's the kettle. I'll be back with some tea. And don't touch anything," she snapped as she got up and hobbled to the kitchen.

Marty went to the newspapers and pulled one out at random. "_Juveniles Collide With Manure Truck_," he read the headline. "Good picture," he remarked as he remembered when Biff and his gang had chased him on his make shift skateboard though the town square only to collide with the manure truck when Marty let his board glide under the car while he climbed over the top. He wasn't forgetting that incident any time soon.

"_Brown Mansion Destroyed_. 1962? No, no, that's not where Doc's stranded. Alright, Einstein brought me the shoe, and Ms. Strickland lost the shoe on the day the speakeasy burned down. But when did the speakeasy burn down? I need at least need to know the year. Hey, mind if I use your binoculars for a sec?" he asked as Ms. Strickland hobbled out of the kitchen.

"Go ahead dear."

Marty picked them up and looked around the area. "Hey, there's Jennifer's mom coming out of the market."

"Mrs. Parker? I find it curious that she always uses the same strapping, red headed bag boy, don't you?"

"I wish I knew which one used to be the speakeasy," Marty muttered to himself.

He decided to have another go at the newspapers and turned the knob on the radiator again.

"There's the whistle," Ms. Strickland said. "Surely the water's boiling by now."

She disappeared into the kitchen again and Marty took out another paper.

"_Firm Announces Plans for Lone Pine Mall. Peabody Ranch to be Rezoned for Commercial Development. _I don't even know when to start looking for clues in these stacks! Wish I could narrow it down to a year, at least," Marty groaned before pulling out another paper. "_Clint Eastwood Plunges to Death on Runaway Train._"

"That's peculiar, the water still hasn't come to a boil," Ms. Strickland said as she came back into the room.

Marty picked up the binoculars again. "Looks like the clock tower repairs have stalled out again."

"The wheels of justice grind slowly, but exceedingly fine… except in Hill Valley, where they don't move at all!"

"Ooookay," Marty said as he placed the binoculars back down. "So, Ms. Strickland, a speakeasy in Hill Valley? That must have been wild. Is it true that they used to drink gin out of slippers like my grandma said?"

"Don't romanticize the past, young man. Prohibition was a time when gangsters ruled this town while honest citizens quaked in their beds!" she snapped.

"So, that speakeasy, where was it? The one that burned down I mean."

"That was ages ago. If you're looking for bootleg hooch…"

"No, I'm just curious, that's all. I'm a student of history."

"Student of history my aunt Fanny. Your generation of hooligans and slackers could give two ripe figs about history."

"Ms. Strickland-"

"The video store!"

"Huh?"

"The speakeasy used to be hidden in plain sight down there in the town square, right where that disgusting videotape rental store squats today."

"So the video store must have gone up after the speakeasy burned down."

"The following year as I recall…"

Marty looked in the binoculars again and saw Biff leaving the video store with a rental. He then read what was printed on a plaque outside. "Rebuilt February, 1932. So the fire must have happened before then. But when? I need a date!"

"Don't look at me. I'm far too old for you," Ms. Strickland said.

Now armed with a year, Marty turned the knob on the radiator again and Ms. Strickland got up to check on the tea again. "Let's see… _Ground Broken on Site of Former Speakeasy… Singer Vanishes… Hill Valley Expo Delights Crowds… Soup Kitchen Exposed… _here we go. _Speakeasy Arsonist Slain. '_Legal procedure gave way to old-fashioned vengeance last night, when a mob descended on the Hill Valley Police Station. The suspect in the speakeasy arson case, a drifter named Carl Sagan, was pulled from his…' wait, Carl Sagan?"

Marty looked on the other side of the of the paper and saw a picture of 'Carl Sagan'. "It's Doc! Killed by a mob…? What's the date? June 14th, 1931? Jeez, I gotta rescue him!"

Marty made to leave the apartment but accidently hit his elbow on one of the hap hazardously stacked boxes and knocked them down just as Ms. Strickland was coming back in.

"My newspapers!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry Ms. Strickland! Let me-"

"No! You've gotten my history out of order! Do you know how long it'll take to fix what you've done? Aaagh! Get out, get out, get out!" she screeched as she threw Marty out of her apartment and grabbed her megaphone. "Help! Police! I'm being attacked by hooligans!"

Marty didn't stick around.

* * *

Marty stepped out from behind the gate that surrounded Doc's place dressed in clothes from the 1930's and opened the lid on a trash can to get fuel for Mr. Fusion. He had just dropped some cans in when his dad walked by.

"Marty! Where have you been son? And what are you doing in that getup?"

"It's a costume for the school play. I got a part in it."

"Really? What play is it? Steinbeck's _Grapes of Wrath_?"

"Yeah."

"Well alright, I won't keep you. You won't stay away too long will you?"

"You'll barely know I was gone."

George left and Marty opened the door to the DeLorean.

"You ready to go. Einstein?" he asked the dog who jumped in to the time machine for an answer. Marty got in after him and closed the door. "Time circuits… on! Flux Capacitor… fluxy. Okay, if Doc's gonna get killed on June 14th, 1931, I'll just show up the day before and get him out! I hope you know what you're doing, Doc," Marty said as he entered the date.

The DeLorean backed up and Marty revved the engine and pulled out into the street. The time machine hit 88 miles per hour and launched Marty into a whole world of predicaments.

* * *

A_/N: What will Marty find in 1931? Will he get in trouble and end up being the one needing to be saved? Will he run into the younger counterparts of anyone he knows or any of his ancestors? And will he find Doc in time? Post a review to find out!_


End file.
